Completed
baekhyunniee
21 people found this review helpful
Aug 26, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers

Well-deserved 8.2 rating on Douban- give this a try!

How do I even begin to describe how unexpectedly good this drama turned out to be?

I went into it completely blind, barely reading the synopsis, knowing just that it was a crime drama focused on one murder case in this apartment building. With just 16 episodes, the length is perfect, giving enough screen time to focus thoroughly on each "suspect" and to add in on the back story of our victim, Mei Bao. Everything tied up beautifully and logically together by the very end with fast pacing and plot development. The pieces of this mystery fit together at the end intertwining flashbacks as the detectives investigate the crime in present time.

Plot: Focused on a murder case in this "tower" apartment building. Two detectives work on this case and investigate a bunch of "suspects" as the drama goes on. Through flashbacks, you'll find out Mei Bao's life and how things led to the way it turned out. I won't say any more than that to keep you in suspense (so go on and watch it!) Also, this drama also raises some current issues women face in our society today, which I did not expect either but I liked it.

Characters: Mei Bao and Detective Yang Rui Sen were the stars of this drama. As the investigation goes on, you'll learn more about Mei Bao's painful story and in that process, you also get to know our young detective and her passion to get justice for the victim. Mei Bao's family and friends as well as the other people living in the Horizon Tower will share their stories as well and it's really clever to designate 2 eps per character's story. I want to say more but that would ruin the fun of this drama as you try to find out who the killer is. I just have to say the emotions of each character were so understandable that I could see why a specific character ended up deciding to do this certain thing.

Acting: I have to first say Angelababy did an awesome job. I don't usually watch her dramas because her acting is not that great, but she has improved! I love how she did her role as Mei Bao, conveying the pain in her emotions. Moving onto the rest of the cast, everyone did great too. Quite a few of them are experienced actors and others are new faces but they all did very well. For the young actors especially, I can see their potential. The young actress who plays young Mei Bao played Pu Pu from The Bad Kids!

Music: Beautiful music. There's just one, which is the ending song, and it's so good. It's in English and with the sadness of the melody, it matches perfectly to the tone of this drama. Not only that, the BGM was excellent in setting the mood of each scene, especially the sad and suspenseful parts. They definitely kept me on my toes!

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Completed
Q I U
20 people found this review helpful
Sep 4, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

Best Detective Drama in Chinese History...

Watching this drama is the best decision I have made as it is so much better than I expected.This is probably the best drama I have watched recently.
Here are my opinions on this drama:

Story: Story follows a beautiful girl, who was murdered in her apartment and several suspects telling the story in their own versions. I like how the story is executed, it is surprisingly very interesting as same event/ same thing was told in different versions by different suspects. Mystery part of this drama is very well done as I am on the edge of my seat throughout the whole drama.
It is one of those dramas where you can‘t stop clicking the next ep because each episode ended with a cliffhanger/surprise twist.

Acting: I know Angelababy’s acting has always been a hot topic in Weibo but I am sure this is her best work so far. She perfectly fits the MeiBao character and I believe it is very well done. I like all other veteran casts and am so satisfied that they did their best jobs.
Special mention : the Actor who played as MeiBao’s stepdad is so impressive as I feel disgusted by his words, and his expressions.

Other aspects: This drama also addresses several hot issues such as child abuse, domestic violence, PickUp Artsts, Unfair Law Enforcement, etc.
Cinematography is of high quality, camera shots are very well done and ofc the ending song is so good.

Though I mentioned so many good things, still there are some Plot-holes, but plot holes are not inevitable in detective dramas and they are not that obvious.

I’d highly recommend this drama to everyone who would like this genre, it is the best one released this year...

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Completed
PeachBlossomGoddess
13 people found this review helpful
Sep 20, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 6
Overall 8.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

Tangled

Disguised as a classic whodunit, this is really a drama about how the law does not always protect the vulnerable or deliver justice. It also tangles with some pretty heavy social issues that are a bit more than what I signed up for. To me, this is a drama that can't decide what it wants to be so while I still enjoyed it, I don't regard it highly as far as mystery thrillers go.

This drama starts out strong - shockwaves rock the community of the posh Horizon Tower when their lovely cafe owner Zhong Meibao is found dead in her apartment under suspicious circumstances. The cynical and disorganized Zhong Jingguo is assisted by the more methodical Yang Ruisen in investigating this case. They interview everyone on the scene of the crime including a security guard, an architect, a novelist, a real estate agent, a housekeeper and friends and family of the victim. From these varying sometimes contradictory accounts of the events of the day and recollections of their interactions with the victim, outlines of the various possibilities start to emerge. The first 8 episodes or so of this were superb; exactly what I would want to see in this kind of genre. The occasionally shady, hilariously kinky, bittersweet glimpses of what happens behind close doors added just the right dose of dark humor and mundane daily existence.

The issue is at episode 8, the victim's backstory is told in a anime which gives away a big chunk of the plot and took away much of the excitement for me. The storyline dives deeply into the victim's backstory and traumatic past which is connected to a number of suspects. At that point, it is not hard to see where the story is headed. I did not expect to watch a this kind of story it is not what I was in the mood for. I don't mean to diminish the importance of these social issues that are frequent themes in this kind of genre but this drama took me away from the mystery for too long to overly explore these topics. Angelababy is also not best suited to play this kind of role either; a better actress could have done a lot more with it even though they may not manage to look as tragically beautiful. The fact that I felt a lot sadder for her parallel character in the anime version than I did for her Meibao says it all. Similarly I found the antagonist in the anime more complex and had a more convincing purpose for his actions whereas the parallel character is just a violent and not that intelligent pervert. The photographs which he used to exert power over his victims would have indicted him and sent him to jail forever. To me, that is the big logic hole that made me lose respect for the intelligence of characters I am supposed to sympathize with.

The outstanding performances in this drama are by the two detectives; they are the glue that pulls the backstory and all of the plot threads together. The inner conflict Ruisen experiences as she struggles between her empathy for the victims and her duty to enforce the law even if it means justice is not done really is impressively conveyed. This is a drama where there are real consequences for taking the law into our own hands and debates whether the high price of justice is worth it. While these important themes were well articulated, the whodunit never really regains the momentum and mystery of the first half. Although it would have been a darker ending, the entire drama builds predictably towards what plays out in the penultimate episode. And then in typical c-drama fashion, they couldn't resist delivering one final tangled twist that delivers what could have been an alternate ending. Except there wasn't a real proper build up to it, there is no deducing we just see a replay of what went down in an open and shut case. This all takes place in the last episode and left me feeling vaguely cheated. Consider stopping at episode 15.

Although this drama got tangled into too many themes and twists, this is still a good watch and something I am happy to recommend to fans of the genre although for me it didn't live up to the hype.

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Completed
Synapticsilly
10 people found this review helpful
Aug 22, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers

Don’t know why it’s rated so low.

This is a great drama! I really don’t know why it’s rated so low. A few days ago the rating was 6.6. At least right now the rating is higher.

Mostly every Chinese murder drama or movie have bad ratings.

The drama starts off where Zhong Meibao was crying. Might seem boring to see someone cry, but later it gets interesting.

Since this was a murder story, I thought she was going to die of course. She did die, and her closest people felt it. A guy that was playing the piano went really fast, it began to rain, the whole entire building got a black out, and a woman was about to give birth.

I thought it was really fascinating.

Two police named Yang RuiSen and Zhong JingGuo are in charge of the case. They thought it was a passion crime, so there were three main suspects that were all men. They were suspected for being in love with Zhong Meibao.

But after more clues started to appear, more suspects showed up. The suspects were not only men now, there were also women.

Yang RuiSen and Zhong JingGuo was almost about to finish the case when Zhong Meibao’s stepdad comes in and gives them a story they never thought about. And now, they have to start all over to investigate which story was correct.

Every time an episode ended, it would make me sad or mad. There was a lot of suspense, which made me interested in every episode.

This is a really hard case. I tried my best to find the killer, but a lot of the suspects lied about what happened between them and the victim. But in the end, I found the murderer and I was correct.

I would have given this drama a 10, but I got mad a little in the ending. Literally, there was a woman that had the major evidence when Zhong MeiBao died. It was literally a video and it could save everybody’s time, but she was literally afraid to tell anyone. She’s so weird.

But at least she told the police in the end and the killer went to jail.

You should really watch it.

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Completed
bananacookie
4 people found this review helpful
Aug 6, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.5
This review may contain spoilers

Beautiful, gripping, dark


Perfect plot. Everything is so interwoven, interconnected. Right from the first scene in ep1 to the end of ep16, everything falls so perfectly in place
Each character had so much depth, they were so much more than what was shown initially. In the beginning you just get to know the surface of these characters. Mei bao, Mo li, Da Sen,Ye Mei li, Xiao Ling, even Yang Rui Sen's boyfriend( he was such a supportive and encouraging partner to her when she needed him) all perfectly written characters. No one was their as dummy to just cater to a scene. Every character had his own foundation, his own development,
This drama talks about family, what it is, it doesn't have to be defined by the boundaries of blood ties, It talks about mental issues and how it difficult it is to break out of the fences one makes after a trauma to protect themselves. It talks about righteousness- what defines it, is it our set of morals or the law that defines it. How everyone struggles with their own flaws, their own burdens and how everyone has a skeleton in their closet.

And in the end, amazing ost- You and I by Aila Gato and Philip Halloun, definitely fits into the setting of this drama
Would definitely recommend it

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Completed
Bubbletea Reviews
4 people found this review helpful
Sep 6, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.5
This review may contain spoilers

Twists : The Murder Mystery

By far, this is my favourite murder mystery I've seen from Cdrama. Watched on recommendation from Zhang Ziyi (yes that famous actress), otherwise I wouldnt have given it a try (see AB)

But Angelababy does not disappoint. I even think Mei Bao is modelled after her. Don't let that stop you from giving this a go!

This drama is twists: The murder mystery. Every episode is a twist in an unfurling classic whodunnit story and has been crafted well - down to its music, cinematography, acting, you can tell everything has been planned down for consistency and detail (unlike the majority of cdramas, I'm sad to say) and I suppose its because this only has 16 episodes! From a cdrama point of view, wheres dramas go up 70 and above, thank god. and it shows, this show has structure, it makes sense. So yes I finished 16 episodes within 2 days, because 1) it wasnt draggy and the story mystery is compelling i.e. how did she really die? 2)the story is dark, so I wanted to finish it asap bc I was a bit sick afterwards (but not the gory kind dont worry)

Plot: I won't spoil too many details but as you can tell, the overall genre is similar to Murder of the Orient Express, but in a tower, and things are not what they seem, the inhabitants all share secrets that unfold in sometimes inexplicable logic. As the story unfurls, I like how we slowly begin to question everyone's dictation of the events - like a proper mystery. Even at the premise, where the directors planted a seed of distrust to the older detective who are meant to the uber-trustworthy guy (he is). There are multiple ways a story can be twisted, and that is the greatest point of this drama! Sometimes truth is weirder than fiction, and this definitely applies here. I'll have to watch it again, because I'm not quite sure what was really were lies even after the dust has settled, and the drama does not provide a full explanation, but maybe that was the point? The best part of this show was the anime interlude, which was very well done and unique, albeit melodramatic, as a metaphor for Mei Bao's pain.

Weakness: The ending, aka ep 16. Look I like happy endings, but although ep 15 where it seemed like all hope was lost, the resolution was amazingly fast and although clued in before, it seemed a bit far fetched. Could it really happen this way? It seemed too good to be true. All the characters especially Mei Bai and her friends were particulry kooky, but I guess they'd have to be to make this drama inexplicable events work and the evil guy behind all this - was just EVIL in all sense of the world with absolutely no humanity left in him and extremely motivated and smart from the very beginning, you begin to get sick everytime he shows on screen. Everyone seem to have explicable motives - but was I looking for reality in this show? Im not sure. The show really succeeds in dividing the line between good guys and bad guys (despite how they say the line is blurred), but I like the line about doing the right thing vs the righteous thing. However this line felt contrived with the ending - yeah they could the righteous thing ONLY because it was also the "right" thing by the law. Police don't have a choice but to be the hero at the end of the day.

TLDR: This show is dark and mysterious in the right ways, and you leave with a happy ending, so thats a proper mystery - better than any mystery you've probably watched recently.

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Completed
liuchangfangirl
6 people found this review helpful
Oct 10, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0

This drama is a masterpiece!

I finished this drama in one day. I found this randomly in a WeTV ad while I was playing games. I watched the ad for just about 5 seconds and accidentaly skipped it. Gladly I saw the title. I immediately take my pen and write the title i remembered. Never thought that this drama will be one of my most favorite crime drama and shed me to tears. That last episode tho. And the ost You & I be one of my most favorite song. The cast did great job. The story was unexpected. I thought dramas like this will easily guessed but the end was really unexpected and shed me to tears. I love this drama so much.

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Completed
Becky
4 people found this review helpful
Dec 7, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers

A tragic satire on the helpless, perverts and unfairness of society

The first few episodes really got me excited: it seems like such a good whodunit murder mystery, and I love the storytelling, the developments, the pacing and the dark-dark themes!! It is very rare that a Chinese drama would include in such social topics, and took quite a deep dive too. The social topics that are brought up in this drama and the depths it went into, are both shocking and disturbing.

Unfortunately, the scriptwriters and directors seem to be too focused on the storytelling and confusing the audience, that it neglected the whodunit element. Around 3/4 point, when the details and clues started connecting in my mind, I felt "cheated". Because it became clear that the detectives had made some glaring errors in the investigation and blatantly ignored the usual deduction process in a police investigation.... because [MAJOR SPOILER] if they have paid attention to the autopsy report, or talked to the pathologist who performed the autopsy, they would have reached the conclusion much faster! This is the first time I've seen a murder investigation whereby the detectives are not interested to know the cause of death, nor if the body had been moved.... -_-

I have not read the original novel that this is adapted from, so I do not know if the directors are merely following the novel or if they have changed certain elements to make it more exciting. But with what we eventually see in the drama, it might have worked better if the 2 detectives are private investigators hired by a mysterious client, because the police had concluded the death was a suicide. Without access to the autopsy report and police fact-finding at the crime scene, the manner in which they conduct the investigation through interviews would make sense. Sigh.

I am still giving this drama 9/10 because of the tight pacing (there is no lag or slowdown), excellent storytelling (every episode has a twist or surprise), the courage of discussing such ugly social ills (and doing it brilliantly), the great acting (except for Angelababy, her okay performance among such a great cast, kind of spoil it a bit) and for the tears that I shed. FYI, I have watched The Bad Kid and Long Night, and stayed dry-eye throughout both, but this drama had me crying like a baby... So I would still highly recommend this drama! But please watch it for the tragic stories, social ills and good acting.

Lastly, why oh why did they use an English song, and not a great song too, as the drama theme song??!! That irritated me quite a bit..... It would have been much better to use a melancholy Chinese song, or a piano piece (like the opening song at Fearless Whispers). That would be more suitable.

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Completed
SammyWong
3 people found this review helpful
Nov 29, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.5
This review may contain spoilers

2020 Hidden Gem

I watched this drama not knowing what to expect but i finished this drama with so much surprises, feeling a little anguish, a little relief and bucket loads of tears. It hit me right at the heart and gut. Dont be taken aback with my introductory explanation as you are in for a thrilling ride and you will not regret it. Even though it is a murder mystery/crime thriller, the way the plot twist and unravel will keep you on the edge of your seat. One of the winning points of this drama was how they tackle the subject of domestic violence ,abusive relationships, the impact of staying on in a toxic relationship with a narcissist and the prejudices against women even in our modern society. I like how they showed these through the development of the plot and subtlety weaves in these messages without becoming overtly preaching. Why i was overwhelmed with emotions as i watched this drama was the fact that most of the characters feature in this show is so real, tragic victim's like Zhong Mei Bao n her mom happens in real life and scumbags like Yan Yong Yuan existed in this world. By the time the drama draws down its final curtain i cant hold back my tears as it was such a bittersweet ending, it ain't a fairytale ending but it fits the drama & it ends with such a powerful message that amidst the darkness having a glimmer of light makes a lot of difference.

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Completed
Capivara
3 people found this review helpful
Aug 12, 2022
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
This review may contain spoilers

Flaws, clichès and some very powerful moments

This drama starts as a whodunit. Unreliable narrator and many sides of a story told through the view of different people is something I like very much, but the second half we see the drama is less a mystery and more a sad story with a strong social commentary. By ep 10 it was already obvious the suicide and that everybody was working together trying to taking down that scum. The pedophilia, domestic violence, rape are very strong themes but somehow I felt it could had been better worked.
Differently from many I think the drama could have less episodes. They spent too much time showing too meticulously the characters background stories that in the end were almost all lies and felt like fillers because they showed things to us that were not said by the characters and even these were lies just to mislead us what I don't think makes sense, it seemed a lazy write device.
Many things doesn't make sense, like the the blackmailing using photos of abused children as if its disclosure would be worst for the victims than the criminal. For god's sake if you possess photos of abused children you are automatically incriminating yourself, even if they couldn't proof he was the culprit he was the adult responsible for them! They would never be the wrong ones in this situation.
Many things in this drama are too frustrating, like, why they never recorded that man's threats? They never tried to get proofs?
I think the more frustrating of all is that int the end the abuser won. It's showed almost as a happy ending but he had it all. He destroyed the lives of the mother and the children and ultimately the victim that was abused her entire life had to die to him finally go to jail! The doctor's carreer was destroyed, the brother lost his memtal health
and his sister that was the most important person in his life, all the neighbors gone to jail even if for a short period.
As a cdrama, it's only approved by the censorate if in the end the law is served and no culprit of any crime goes unpunished, this spoils any chance of a good story of revenge or scheming for justice, because this drama would be much better if they had united with a good plan and sent that scum to hell and managed to keep the truth hidden.

As a good thing I can say I liked the women protecting and helping each other. I liked the feminist points even though the discourse was clichè. I don't know how to explain but I felt that many serious themes in this drama were showed in a way just... shallow. The two detectives seem a caricature most of the time. I really think the writing was lacking in some aspects.

This is a drama worth to watch but is far from a masterpiece, in my opinion. Has a lot of flaws but also some very powerful moments.

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Completed
shanzhujun
3 people found this review helpful
Feb 6, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

One of the best Chinese dramas of 2020

It's a piece of poignant social commentary disguised as a murder mystery.

Someone else commented that it isn't very true to detective work at all, which is an accurate assessment of the show. More importantly, though, I think what A Murderous Affair in Horizon Tower achieves is telling a truly female-oriented story that Chinese entertainment sorely needed. It explores heavy themes such as sexual abuse, the victim-blaming mentality, and unfair standards to which society holds women. What really stood out to me as well was the subversive portrayal of strong friendships between women, which is refreshing after being bombarded with contemporary dramas filled with female conflict.

[very minor spoilers ahead]

Story:
You can watch Horizon Tower expecting a murder mystery but you end up with something very different. At some point the narrative shifts away from simply trying to figure out who killed Zhong Meibao but piecing together the story of her life, and the lives of those around her. Every two episodes focuses on a person of interest in her case, and slowly, the picture comes together, and you realize no one is quite who they seem.

I mentioned this earlier, but the best part of this drama for me was the female-centred narrative. I don't think there are enough shows in Chinese enetertainment that tell the stories of real women; what we currently have are mostly caricatures or shallow fantasies, products of what older men think what younger women want to see. But Horizon Tower tells the story of a girl persevering through poverty and abuse, meeting friends who would support her through her trauma, only to be murdered moments before she may have finally escaped her past. The process of solving her murder then addresses the following issue: when the victim is female, why do we expect her to have been a perfect person?

[SPOILER: the only thing negative thing I could say about the story is the ending, which felt forcibly happy. I was absolutely relieved that it was a bittersweet ending rather than a tragic one, but if we're approaching it from the standpoint of realism, it's unlikely everything would've just fallen together perfectly like that. I'm still glad it did, though.]

Acting/Cast:
There are a lot of people they could have cast for the role of Zhong Meibao, but they chose Angelababy. While I think this was successful in generating a decent amount of buzz when it went on trending with "Angelababy's acting skills improved," I think her reputation for being a poor actress turned a large potential audience away as well. I definitely think she's gotten better, although she is still the weak link in the main characters. Otherwise, the acting was solid. Yang Zishan and Guo Tao were both good, and the supporting cast was strong.

Overall:
It's definitely among the best Chinese dramas of 2020. It's only 16 episodes so a fairly easy watch, and its message and commentary (although a little heavy handed at times) is worth taking a look at. It's clear the production took a lot of care with the subject material, and it's very entertaining as well.

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Completed
autumn carrot
2 people found this review helpful
Jul 10, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

It takes a whole tower to exact justice

I started watching this show one hour after finishing Goodbye my princess and I thought to myself, what would make me feel better about the tragedy I just watch? A show about a girl dying at the young age of 28, of course. The perfect follow-up to GMP!
As I had predicted, with just 16 episodes, this show is one of the easiest shows to bingewatch. I watched the entire thing in two days and barely got tired. Masquerading as a whodunnit, this show is actually using the excuse of a murder to tell a story about the silenced victims of crimes that are not as big or as flashy as murder and therefore go unnoticed, unavenged. I won’t say more so as to avoid spoilers but I would say this: If you are here for a smart and snappy murder mystery with heavy police work and use of deduction skills, then you’re in the wrong place. The police work in this show is actually abysmal! They don’t even make a timeline of events. Their study of the murder scene is very superficial. I noticed things just by comparing it to other detective shows I have watched before but none of that really mattered because I kind of caught on early on that this isn’t the point of the show. The show deals with a very sad and real fact that sometimes law and justice fail those who need it the most and the worst kinds of crimes go unpunished because the gray areas are just too complicated to maneuver. If that doesn’t tickle your interest, then I don’t know what will!

You should still watch this show if you like:
1.Agatha Christie novels and their adaptations
2.Mysteries
3.Feminism
4.Female friendships
5.Tragedies
6.Stories that appear like one thing but then it turns out something else is going on
7.Good productions.
And if you can handle:
1.Violence
2.Abuse
3.Upsetting concepts in which bad people hurt innocent people including women and children
4.Murder
5. And other things that are definitely spoilers

Summary: The story starts when a young and beautiful coffee shop owner dies in her apartment in Horizon tower, a tower that is a very symbolic clash of class and culture. What appears to be a crime of passion becomes more and more complicated once the detectives on the case discover more details of the victim’s past.

Plot: This was a high-tension, mystery with a considerably big ensemble cast whose roles fit together like puzzle pieces. Every episode became better and better in my opinion. The weakest link in the show was probably the characterization of the victim which was basically “beautiful and perfect in every way” which…eh, boring. The more you learn about her, the more refined her character becomes but I honestly think she’s the least developed character in the story. It’s not that she’s not complex, it’s just that putting the label of “perfection” and “angel” on a character in a show that is meant to be realist, kind of makes it seem childish. Anyway, to me the further the show steps from its façade of a murder case, the better it got. It might not be a seamless web of cunning plotting, but you will hardly notice in just one watch. The main point is that it’s an exciting, provocative story with a satisfying ending and also just a very progressive message. It’s a bit of a heavy watch, since injustice against children comes up in it and these kinds of topics are always hard to watch but I think the overall effect of the show was very satisfying and totally worth it.

Acting: The ensemble did a really good job. Because of the nature of the story, you don’t get too much of anyone besides the detectives and the victim but the supporting cast really did a great job in this one. They all used the limited time they were on screen to communicate their character’s particular behaviors and it was great. I’d heard Angelababy is terrible…I don’t know she was fine here? Very muted and calm performance without any overacting. Her crying scenes were a bit fake looking sometimes but I think she was fine. I haven’t watched her in anything else, I don’t really have a point of reference. I was expecting her to be terrible but really, she held herself up against a very good ensemble. And her voice is not high pitched. I really appreciated that. (I know it’s not a choice but still.)

Music: This show had a very generic but well-executed English pop ballad and standard mystery music. It was fine. It worked well for the show.

Production: Now the production here was great. The sets look great, the costumes helped the characters define themselves. The cinematography and editing were great. There were no weird jumps unless specifically done for artistic reasons. The lighting was atmospheric and everything really looked professional. I think a lot of modern Chinese dramas maybe lack this level of production value unless they’re a Lights On series show. Those are great.

Rewatch value: I wouldn’t say no. It’s super short and very easy to get through and there’s enough foreshadowing and mystery to maybe go back and try to find more clues once the whole thing is solved.

Negatives: It’s not really a murder mystery case show in the traditional way. If you’re somehow one of those people who have beef with modern society striving to do better socially and culturally for equality of men and women, then you might get your panties in a twist over this. (Side note: don’t care. Block me if you really have anything against the message of this show because wtf is wrong with you?!) Some say the “villain” is ridiculous or unrealistic... I don’t think that was the case. I think it was a choice to make him seem like a bigger threat than he was to highlight the trauma of the victims. As in, he *seemed* that big to them because they had weaknesses that he was exploiting. It was actually a very poetic choice. I do have some doubts about how the show depicts laws concerning SPOILER BUT ALSO CENSORED BECAUSE I’M SURE THAT WORD IS ON SOME KIND OF WATCHLIST SO NO THANKS, I WON’T SAY IT ALOUD. I mean I assumed the whole world had some kind of law against *that thing* that protects victims but the show kind of never addresses the consequences of having SPOILERS of SPOILERS. (Sorry. These sentences are helping no one.) What I’m trying to say is, there’s a bit of a loophole to the show’s overall logic if you want to be nitpicky but I doubt anyone would notice because the show is very thrilling and viewers will be too busy biting their nails to realize the plot could be solved in three seconds. (Spoilers in the comment.)

Overall: I liked this show. It was a very high-quality production which a great cast and an engaging and IMPORTANT story to tell and it wasn’t dragged out and it had some serious ideological concepts to chew on and I really appreciated that. I felt both thrilled and emotionally touched and I highly recommend this show.

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A Murderous Affair in Horizon Tower (2020) poster

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  • Score: 8.5 (scored by 1,284 users)
  • Ranked: #611
  • Popularity: #3204
  • Watchers: 4,307

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